Its hockey season in August as the Hamden Midget Green Team started its season with an exciting split of four games in the Cromwell Tournament this past weekend. Hamden started strong against a big South Windsor Team. The Select squad made up mostly of Prep School Players was no match for the hard skating Hamden squad.

Matt Morgan got the team going on a nice back handed goal in the first period. Assists went to Mike Berezecky and Jim Burt. Steve Sorrentino then laid a big hit on a South Windsor player as Scott Walsh tapped the pass to the hard rushing Mike Pierne. Pierne deked into the defensive zone and top shelved a back hander while flying across the crease for a 2-0 Hamden lead.

CJ Carignan made it 3-1 early in the second on a rebound of his own shot. South Windsor had scored to make it a one goal game when the smooth skating center man hit home with a pretty backhander of his own. PJ Vakos and Dave Findley picked up helpers on this goal.

Findley then scored with assists to Carignan and Vakos and the rout appeared to be well under way. South Windsor had other ideas, however, and made it a 4-3 game with just fifteen minutes to play. Morgan then rang the bell again with Berezecky and AJ Gemmell picking up assists.

Berezecky then joined the hit parade as Burt and Morgan picked up the assists to make it 5-3. Hamden was then down a man and Anthony Avitable showed why he is one of the best goalie’s in the State by making save after save. Burt rewarded his goaltender’s fine play by stealing the puck in center ice and skating past one defender to score a short handed goal and bring the lead to 6-3.

Pierne and Carignan scored again with Walsh and Carignan picking up another assist each.

Hamden then lost two games in a row to the powerful Mid-Fairfield and Comcast Teams. Pierne scored in the Comcast game with an assist to Sorrentino. The team lost Morgan to a hard hit to the head in that game. Morgan had scored another goal in the Fairfield loss as did Pat McGovern. McGovern had two goals in that game including a beautiful unassisted score. Walsh, Burt, and Dan Cusano had assists.

The final game was Hamden’s best of the year. They had back Mark Fracasso, John Teulings and hard hitting Dan Wheeler, all of whom had been on vacation. The team played the Colonials—a powerful out of state team that was undefeated in the tournament before facing Hamden.

Avitable was incredible in net. Nick Castaldi and the entire defense played well and the team came together in the absence of Morgan to play a hard skating, fine game.

Hamden was trailing 1-0 in the Third when Burt dug the puck out from behind the net and hit Vakos who touch passed the puck right away to Walsh who banged it home to knot the game at 1-1. Two minutes later Cusano feathered a beauty of a pass over one defender’s stick and under another’s legs to Berezecky streaking down the slot and the rugged winger slammed it home to put Hamden up 2-1.

Avitable then came up big as the defense played tough in front of the net for Hamden’s thrilling 2-1 win.